Search

I put something over four hard hours into this one. I had three starts that refused to grow, so then I just made myself try to blend them. I cut one and made a story out of the other two. Didn’t really work—get comfortable on that hard drive, story # 188—but I always hope the sweat equity counts for something. The texture, today, came from one of those small, air-filled plastic pillow thingies used to cushion shipped goods. I was trying to get a good picture of it when someone came along to make enquiries. Don’t know what Maria thought of it, but holding this thing made me think of tearing into a bag of chips.

Working Title: Snack Time1st Sentence: When I’m squeezing the plastic bag, fat with air, with both hands, my fingers clawing for purchase, and at the same time pulling the two sides of the bag away from each other, desperate to break that fused seam at the top so I can get at those greasy, crispy, salty, cheese crackers that I can already smell and taste, yes, I do realize that this could end badly.Favorite Sentence: I’d wake up at 3:00 in the morning, feeling like I was lying in a Jello-ey sling, my butt skimming the floor, the rest of me upslope from that center of gravity.Word Length: 771

Claire Guyton

can't thank the Maine Arts Commission enough for granting her their 2012 literary fellowship, which she used to launch Daily Shorty. Claire writes, edits, coaches other writers, and blogs in Lewiston, where she stays sane by working on her scraggly yard, running 5Ks as slowly as possible, perfecting cracker recipes, and playing badminton. She spends the remainder of her free time with her sweet husband and perfect cats. You can contact Claire at dailyshorty@gmail.com.